Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 Explanatory Notes

Section 25 – Status of secretary of valuation appeal panel

119. The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”) created a new structure for tribunals dealing with devolved matters, including valuation appeal committees as constituted under section 29 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.(28) The members of valuation appeal committees are drawn from valuation appeal panels. Paragraph 1 of schedule 2 of the 2014 Act empowers the Scottish Ministers to provide by regulations that members of affected tribunals (or of panels from which the members of affected tribunals are drawn, as is the case in relation to valuation appeal committees) may be transferred to be holders of positions within the new Scottish tribunals.

120. Each valuation appeals panel has a secretary (and may have one or more assistant secretaries).(29) Such secretaries and assistant secretaries are not members of the panel. The 2014 Act did not originally include any provision under which those secretaries and assistant secretaries could be transferred to be holders of positions in the new tribunal structure. Section 25 inserts a new sub-paragraph (4) into paragraph 1 of schedule 2 of the 2014 Act, which permits regulations under sub-paragraph (1) of that paragraph to provide for secretaries and assistant secretaries of valuation appeals panels to also be transferred to be holders of positions in the new tribunal structure.

28

The various tribunals affected are being gradually transferred into the new structure over time – valuation appeal committees have not been transferred as at the time of publication of these Notes but are due to transfer with effect from 1 April 2023.

29

See regulation 7 of the Valuation Appeal Panels and Committees (Scotland) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/137).